How to correctly start/stop instance without losing previous rdp connection info ?

Question

Hello,

I am testing a vps with free top tier offer.
I find out that I have countdown with 750 hours of free use, so each time I don't use the instance, I stop the instance in my EC2 dashboard to save some time.

Unfortunately when I want to connect again and start my instance, I can't use anymore my previously downloaded rdp file. I have a connect error. I need to re-generate and re-download a new updated rdp file. This is an annoying process.

Is there a way to simply stop and start the instance and use the same downloaded rdp file ? What am I doing wrong here ?

Thank you,

Toni

Dmytro Sirant · Accepted Answer

Hi,

This 750h limit is per-month, not per annum, so having this limit you don't need to turn off/on your instance to save.

MarilynAWS · Answer

Hi. Regarding:
>Strange they put a 750h limit while a full month with 31days is 744h...

You can launch several EC2 instances under the Free Tier. Your Free Tier usage is calculated from all the hours that all your instances are running. For example, if you have 10 instances running at the same time, your Free Tier usage lasts for 75 clock hours because 10 running instances x 75 clock hours = 750 Free Tier hours.

You can track your Free Tier usage on the EC2 Dashboard. Please see the following link to learn more: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/usage-reports.html#ec2-free-tier-usage

Steve_M · Answer

Afraid not, when an EC2 instance is stopped and started it will get a new and different public IP address each time https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/using-instance-addressing.html#concepts-public-addresses
> - We release your instance's public IP address when it is stopped, hibernated, or terminated. Your stopped or hibernated instance receives a new public IP address when it is started.

The RDP file has the public IP address hard-coded into it. This is why a new RDP file is needed every time.

How to correctly start/stop instance without losing previous rdp connection info ?

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